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Taxpayers can’t trust the
Greenville School
Board
By Don Wright
I
received a letter that reminded me in detail
why we can’t trust this school board.
In
2009 there was an emergency levy for three
years that passed. In a 5-0 vote the board agreed not to ask for a
renewal.
Then they dishonestly put it back on the ballot. They not only lied but
changed
it to ten years. The extra seven years will cost us taxpayers eleven
million
four hundred thousand dollars. This is approximately equal to one
fourth of the
total cost of the proposed school bond issue to be voted on in August
2013. If
the school bond passes, we will be double taxed for seven years.
This
arrogant school board never answers any of
the taxpayers’ questions. If they don’t address every question in
detail below
anyone that votes for this bond issue is stupid.
1.
According to a contractor friend there is no
way to estimate the cost of a building without a set of prints. Do you
have
plans and prints we can look at?
2.
You asked for nine million dollars more than
you needed on the last bond issue. What do you plan to do with that
money?
3.
What is the board’s plan for the next five
years? What will it cost to operate the new school? What is the
estimate of the
increase in teacher compensation? How many new buses will we need to
buy? Do
they plan to ask for a new operating levy? We do not want a (VERSAILLES
SURPRISE).
4.
Who is going to tell the residents of
Requarth, Ohio, Virginia, Palm, Redwood, Surry etc. what’s in store for
them?
Road changes, sidewalks and curbs. According to my contractor friends,
millions
of dollars of changes they will have to pay for.
5.
Why not build on Harmon Drive where we have
an existing building, streets, parking lots, etc. This is not a time
for tunnel
vision. This is a time for pragmatic choices that benefit the most
people. Use
the land on Ohio St. for a sports complex.
6.
How do you geniuses on the school board plan
to protect the taxpayers from paying for shoddy work? I’m told we have
new
schools with bleeding blocks, windows installed upside down, heating
and air
conditioner systems that don’t work, a wall that was built to hide a
wall that
was falling down, roof leaks, etc. Who will manage this forty five
million
dollar job?
7.
What are your plans to dispose of the school
buildings no longer needed? What is the estimated cost and where will
the money
come from?
My
respect for Doug Fries went up when I saw
how he rolled the Greenville School Board in salary negotiations. It’s
the
American way to sell your services for the top dollar you can get.
$125,000
salary – 100% health care - $100,000 life insurance policy, vacation
and perks.
However it’s the school board’s priority to get the best value for the
least
money for the taxpayer. There are millions of business executives out
of work
in this country that have the education and experience level that would
let
them qualify to be a school superintendent. I guarantee you that I can
take
$500, run an ad in the Wall Street Journal and get one thousand
applicants that
will take the job for $100,000 flat. This is the problem we face when
you elect
school teachers to a school board. They would take a dose of rat poison
before
they would vote against a teacher’s interest.
This
school board thinks the bond issue will
pass because we the John Q consumers are stupid. If you vote with your
heart
instead of your brain they will be right.
I’m
expecting to see a levy anytime asking for
money to furnish line dancing lessons to teachers.
Stay
tuned,
Don
Wright
Greenville
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